VP's Guide to the Yellow Book

Today sees the swanky launch of the Yellow Book for 2012 in London. It's their 85th year of raising pots of money for good causes, so now's a good time for us to have a quick peep 'over the fence' into the blogger gardens opening for the NGS this year :)

First up is Dawn of Little Green Fingers, who is a NGS first timer this year. Her Yellow Book entry says:

Set in 1/3 acre, this space has been designed to show that a practical family garden can still be beautiful. There is a large lawn with a sunken trampoline surrounded by mixed borders, ornamental vegetable garden, children’s play area and greenhouse

Dawn's garden in Hail Weston, Cambridgeshire is open from 10-5 on 9th June. My thanks to Dawn for sending me the photo of her garden :)

Next is my dear friend Karen, whose NGS entry title matches her blog: An Artist's Garden.

An Artist's Garden is a 140ft garden with slate paths leading to ponds, vegetable plots, cutting borders. The late summer planting is full of colour and texture.

You can read all about Karen's first opening last September on her blog, plus my delightful visits to her here and here. Karen's garden in Dyffryn Ardudwy is open from 11-5, on 2nd September.

Finally there's another dear friend of mine, Victoria of Victoria's Backyard who's been opening her garden since before I first got to know her in 2008.

The planting here is strong and modern: bananas, gorgeous tetrapanax, a tree fern... and the biggest phormium I've ever seen. Vast paddle leaves of bananas splay out against a background of bamboo' (Anna Pavord). 70ft x 40ft subtropical suburban oasis, designed to defy global warming, garden pests and kids without recourse to carbon emissions, chemicals or cranial damage. Design is contemporary but not minimalist

You can read all about my first visit to Victoria in 2009 here. No doubt we'll be seeing Victoria's regular posts along the lines of Eek, tweak there's only a week! and Phew, that's a relief but I had a great time later on this year ;)

Victoria's London garden opens 2-7pm on 26th August.

So we have 3 fab gardens opened by 3 gorgeous gardening bloggers which are very individual in style and in completely different parts of the country :)

Which NGS gardens are you planning to visit this year?

Comments

  1. Victoria Summerley28 March 2012 at 09:05

    Aw, isn't that nice! I've been manically busy for the past two weeks, either with work (Budget etc), singing (performance is on Saturday) or garden - of course!
    So I woke up this morning feeling extremely jaded and dragged myself to the computer to see what was going on in the world ... to find this!
    Thank you so much, not only for the mention but also for making me smile! xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Elizabeth Musgrave28 March 2012 at 23:09

    What a great range you have here! I suspect that Victoria and Dawn are too far away for me to visit but I will see Karen's again. Last year I had a private view a day before opening and that was fab! I have been taking the same approach to comments for a while now with no ill effects as yet. so far so good anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Karen - An Artist's Garden29 March 2012 at 08:33

    What a lovely post VP - thank you! I hope that Dawn enjoys her first open garden as much as I did. Have we put a date in the diary for your Welsh Visit this year? Let me know some dates

    September seems ages away - but I am opening in the garden for a gardening club in May, thats a bit "eeeek"
    K
    xx
    PS I am planning to visit a new NGS garden opening in Penryhn and will be selling plants at another one in early May.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dobby29 March 2012 at 20:27

    Well, that is three people you have made very happy today. Take a gold star.
    At least I know what I am doing on 2nd September. I wonder if I will be on refreshments or the gate this year!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anna31 March 2012 at 11:01

    I've had my 2012 Yellow Book for a few weeks now ~ just reading the entries brings a smile to my face. Hoping this year to get to Karen's and also to visit a garden opening for the first time just down the road to me. Would love to visit the other gardens you mention but sadly too far, unless maybe I can get a cheap London train deal so that I could visit Victoria's garden. Now that might be worth further investigation :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. VP2 April 2012 at 08:31

    Victoria - so glad this cheered you up :)

    Elizabeth - we're both privileged as far as Karen's garden is concerned :)

    Karen - ooh so you ARE selling your plants, hurrah! Must give you a call re dates :)

    Dobby - hurray :) I'm sure you'll be a huge help on 2nd Sept

    Anna - I'm hoping to get to Ridleys Cheer this year. It's only down the road, so it's not far :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nutty Gnome3 April 2012 at 15:51

    My dream is that, one day, my garden will be in a good enough - and finished enough, state to be in the Yellow Book.
    Ambitious? Moi?!

    ReplyDelete
  8. VP7 April 2012 at 08:11

    NG - why not? Let us know when you open :)

    ReplyDelete

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